Contractor Insurance Verification Checklist

General contractors run this check every week. Homeowners almost never run it at all — and it's the same check, with the same consequences when it's skipped.

Work through it before work starts. It takes about twenty minutes and it's the difference between a contractor's claim landing on their policy and landing on yours.

SECTION 1 — Licence and bond (10 minutes, all free)

Verify at cslb.ca.gov → "Check a License." Do not accept a number on a card or a website.

☐  License status is ACTIVE — not expired, suspended, or inactive

☐ Business name matches your contract exactly — including entity type (Inc., LLC) and any DBA

☐ Classification covers your scope of work (a C-10 electrical licence doesn't cover a re-roof; a B general building licence has its own limits on single-trade jobs)

☐ Personnel listed matches who you're actually dealing with

☐ No outstanding disciplinary actions, citations, or judgments

☐ Contractor licence bond on file and current — $25,000 (increased from $15,000 on January 1, 2023)

☐ Bond of qualifying individual on file, if applicable

☐ Workers' compensation status shown — either a certificate on file or a filed exemption

The bond is not insurance. The $25,000 licence bond is a limited consumer protection fund shared across every claimant against that contractor. It will not rebuild a house.

SECTION 2 — General liability (the ACORD 25 certificate)

Request the certificate from their agent, not from the contractor. Then check:

☐ Named insured matches the contract entity exactly

☐ Policy is in force today and the dates cover the full project, including the tail end

☐ Each occurrence limit: $1,000,000 minimum for most residential and light commercial work

☐ General aggregate: $2,000,000 minimum

☐ Products/completed operations aggregate shown and adequate — this is what responds to defective work discovered after the job is finished, and it's the coverage most often missing

☐ Per-project aggregate requested on significant work, so someone else's claim can't exhaust the limit before yours

☐ No exclusions that gut the policy for your scope — ask directly about residential construction exclusions, roofing exclusions, height restrictions, EIFS, mould, and subsidence

☐ Carrier's A.M. Best rating noted; whether admitted or surplus lines

☐ You are named as certificate holder, spelled correctly, at the right address

SECTION 3 — The endorsements a certificate does NOT give you

This is the section that separates a real verification from a paperwork exercise. A certificate confers no rights. These do.

☐ Additional insured — ongoing operations (CG 20 10 or equivalent). Ask for a copy of the endorsement, not just the certificate box.

☐ Additional insured — completed operations (CG 20 37 or equivalent). Frequently omitted, and it's the one that matters after the work is done.

☐ Primary and non-contributory wording, so their policy responds first and yours doesn't contribute

☐ Waiver of subrogation in your favour, on general liability and workers' compensation

☐ Notice of cancellation to you as certificate holder, to whatever extent the policy provides it

Use our certificate of insurance request template to ask for all of this in one email with the right wording.

SECTION 4 — Workers' compensation

☐ Coverage in force if the contractor has any employees — mandatory in California, no exceptions

☐ Employer's liability limits shown, $1,000,000 typical

☐ If they claim exemption, it's a filed exemption visible on the CSLB licence lookup — and you understand that an injured uninsured worker on your property can become your exposure

Know the date that's coming, and know it moved. SB 216 (2022) began requiring workers' compensation for licensed contractors regardless of whether they employ anyone, starting January 1, 2023 for the C-8, C-20, C-22, and D-49 classifications. The extension to all classifications was originally set for January 1, 2026 — SB 1455 (2024, Chapter 485) pushed it to January 1, 2028, with CSLB directed to build an exemption verification process by January 1, 2027. Any advice you read saying "all contractors need workers' comp in 2026" is out of date.

SECTION 5 — Commercial auto and other coverages

☐ Commercial auto — $1,000,000 CSL, covering owned, hired, and non-owned autos, if vehicles come to your site

☐ Umbrella/excess — required on larger projects; check that it sits over GL, auto, and employer's liability

☐ Inland marine / installation floater — covers materials and equipment on site before installation. Without it, a theft of materials from your job site may be nobody's covered loss.

☐ Builder's risk — for ground-up construction or major renovation: who buys it, you or them? Settle this in the contract, not after the fire.

☐ Professional liability — if the contractor is doing design-build, engineering, or providing design input

☐ Pollution liability — for demolition, abatement, or any work disturbing older materials

SECTION 6 — Subcontractors (the gap that swallows projects)

Your contractor's certificate says nothing about the crews they hire.

☐ Contract requires all subcontractors to carry equal or greater limits

☐ Contract requires subs to name both the GC and you as additional insureds

☐ The GC collects and retains sub certificates and will produce them on request

☐ You've asked, in writing, which trades will be subbed out

SECTION 7 — The contract itself

☐ Written contract — required in California for home improvement work over $500

☐ Down payment limit respected — generally the lesser of $1,000 or 10% of the contract price for home improvement contracts

☐ Payment schedule tied to milestones, never front-loaded

☐ Insurance requirements written into the contract with specific limits and endorsements

☐ Indemnity clause in your favour

☐ Change order process in writing

☐ Mechanics lien release required with each payment — including from subs and material suppliers

☐ Permits identified, and who pulls them (a contractor asking you to pull the permit is a warning sign)

SECTION 8 — Ongoing, during the project

☐ Certificate expiration dates calendared with a 30-day alert

☐ Updated certificate requested at each project phase or renewal

☐ Copies of everything kept for the length of the completed-operations exposure — years, not months

☐ Progress photographed throughout

Five red flags

1. Reluctance or delay in producing a certificate. A real business's agent issues one within a day, at no charge.

2. A certificate emailed by the contractor as an edited PDF rather than sent by their agent.

3. "Additional insured" ticked on the certificate but no endorsement available.

4. A licence classification that doesn't match the work.

5. Pressure to start before the paperwork is complete.

If any of these come up mid-project, read what to do when your contractor doesn't have insurance.

FAQs

How do I verify a contractor's insurance in California?

Check the licence and bond at cslb.ca.gov, request an ACORD 25 certificate from their agent, and confirm the named insured, dates, limits, and — for real protection — the additional insured endorsements.

What insurance should a California contractor have?

General liability with products/completed operations, commercial auto, workers' compensation if they have employees, and depending on scope, inland marine, builder's risk, umbrella, and professional liability.

Is a contractor's bond the same as liability insurance?

No. The $25,000 licence bond is a limited consumer protection fund, not liability coverage.

Do all California contractors need workers' comp?

Those with employees always do. The requirement for all licensees regardless of employees now takes effect January 1, 2028 under SB 1455; C-8, C-20, C-22, and D-49 have been covered since January 1, 2023.

Should I be named as an additional insured? 

On any project of consequence, yes — for both ongoing and completed operations, by endorsement, not just on the certificate.

Send us the certificate before you sign the contract.

TSM reads contractor certificates for Central Valley clients as a courtesy — and writes the coverage for the contractors on the other side. Either way, twenty minutes now beats a claim later.

Modesto (209) 524-6366 · Redding (530) 221-3031 · Talk to a TSM advisor